On the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue albums, Billy Bragg and Wilco put music to lyrics by folk legend Woody Guthrie for which he had not written music or made recordings. Nonesuch Records has now reissued the first two volumes on vinyl and release, for the first time on vinyl, a third volume comprising 17 previously unreleased recordings made during the original sessions, which was first released in the 2012 three-CD-plus-DVD set Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions. Each volume is pressed on 2-LP, 180-gram vinyl at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany.

On the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue albums, Billy Bragg and Wilco put music to lyrics by folk legend Woody Guthrie for which he had not written music or made recordings. On Black Friday, November 29, 2013, Nonesuch Records will reissue the first two volumes on vinyl and release, for the first time on vinyl, a third volume comprising 17 previously unreleased recordings made during the original sessions, which was first released in the 2012 three-CD-plus-DVD set Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions. Each volume is pressed on 2-LP, 180-gram vinyl at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany. The albums are available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Billy Bragg launches a tour of New Zealand and Australia this Friday, October 12, in celebration of the life and legacy of Woody Guthrie, on the 100th anniversary of the folk legend’s birth. The shows will feature songs from the Mermaid Avenue albums, in which Bragg and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy set Guthrie's words to music, as well as songs from throughout Bragg's career. The New Zealand leg includes stops in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, and Christchurch; the Australia leg in Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth.

Billy Bragg will bring his Ain't Nobody That Can Sing Like Me tour to New Zealand and Australia this October in celebration of the life and legacy of Woody Guthrie, on the 100th anniversary of the folk legend’s birth. The first half of each show on the tour features songs from the Mermaid Avenue albums, in which Bragg and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy put Guthrie's words to music; the second half of the sets features songs from throughout Bragg's career. The New Zealand and Australia shows follow a similarly focused months-long tour of Europe and North America.

Saturday, July 14, 2012, marks what would have been folk legend Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday. Billy Bragg, who, with Wilco, put music to Guthrie's words on the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue albums, has been touring North America with those songs, culminating this weekend with a set at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Guthrie's Oklahoma hometown, multiple events in his adopted hometown of New York City, and a final show in Maryland. Bragg begins his European summer tour later this month.

Billy Bragg launches a North American tour this weekend in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie's birth. The tour, titled The Ain't Nobody That Can Sing Like Me Tour, follows the recent release of Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions, and features songs from that collection, in which Bragg and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy set Guthrie's words to music, as well as favorites from throughout Bragg's career. The tour begins with shows at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music and The Ark in Ann Arbor this weekend.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s birth, Nonesuch released Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions, on which Billy Bragg and Wilco put music to lyrics by Guthrie for which he had not written music or made recordings. Bragg has launched a tour in celebration of the centenary and has just added four specially curated acoustic shows in the UK and Ireland this September, with guests Joe Henry, KT Tunstall, and more. Here, in his own words, Bragg shares his thoughts on Guthrie, the Mermaid Avenue project, and the concerts.

Woody Guthrie will be the recipient of the Songwriters Hall of Fame's inaugural Pioneer Award, to be presented at the 43rd Annual Induction and Awards Dinner in New York City June 14. The Pioneer Award was established in 2012 to honor the career of a historic creator of a major body of musical work that has been a major influence on generations of songwriters. “This year, we join musicians and songwriters from around the world in celebrating Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday,” says SHOF Chairman Jimmy Webb. “One of the great songwriters of all time, we look forward to acknowledging his brilliance with the first-ever Songwriters Hall of Fame Pioneer Award.” Billy Bragg is currently on tour celebrating Guthrie's centenary with music from the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue albums, on which Bragg and Wilco set Guthrie's words to music.

Billy Bragg has been featured across the BBC airwaves to celebrate the release of Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions, on which Bragg and Wilco set Woody Guthrie's words to music. The Sunday Times and Details both dub it a "must-have." BBC Music says that "nobody has picked up on Woody as effectively—or unexpectedly—as this transatlantic get-together." The Mermaid Avenue project "was always an interesting idea," says a four-star Q review. "That it produced such a wealth of quality material is remarkable." Pitchfork too says: "What's remarkable is the wealth of material available to these artists and the number of gems these sessions produced." Drowned in Sound rates this "wonderful reissue" a nine out of ten. "Even for those who already have both of the previous volumes," says DiS, "Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions is a fascinating look at one of America’s greatest writers."

Happy Record Store Day! Nonesuch Records has made a series of special releases available today in honor of the fifth annual Record Store Day, a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA and hundreds of similar stores internationally. Among the artists releasing albums and singles today are The Black Keys, Dr. John, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Sara Watkins, and Carolina Chocolate Drops. A limited quantity of each Record Store Day title is also available on the Nonesuch Store now.